On September 7, a former middle school classmate came forward to defend actress Kim Hieora from the recent school bullying allegations. 

This former classmate wrote, "In my first year of middle school, I spoke carelessly to another friend, and the incident separated me from the group of friends I was a part of at the time. For a short time after that, I was subject to light bullying at school. It wasn't the kind of bullying that involved physical violence or cursing. They would just invite themselves over to my house, eat, and then leave... To others, it was probably nothing. But I just could not speak up or open up to anyone about it, and I was feeling miserable."

The classmate continued, "That day, they came over to my house again. But there was another friend this time, someone I only knew by name, and that was Eora. They all eventually came to my house again. But that day was the day that I stopped being bullied by them, too. I don't know if Eora will remember it at all. But after spending time at my house, Eora said, thanks for feeding us, and sorry for not doing the dishes. But you seem really nice, so let's be friends. To her, it was all just a light greeting, but I was so grateful to hear her say that. After everyone left, I cried. I cannot forget those words, and thinking about it now still makes me choke up." 

The classmate added on, "Ever since that day, Eora greeted me whenever we saw each other at school and approached me as a friend. Naturally, the bullying mood died down, and in our third year, we were in the same class so we studied together, opened up to each other about our worries, and hung out at her house... I think we were fairly good friends."

Finally, the classmate wrote, "Eora was known to draw the attention of everyone. Her name is unique, and with her big, light brown eyes and fair skin, she turned heads with her appearance. Some people thought that she was mixed-race. So even among the girls who were a part of 'Big Sangji', she stood out. But that was all. Not all of the girls who were a part of 'Big Sangji' bullied others or caused trouble. It was really only a small few who caused trouble here and there, but Eora was not one of them. The Eora I know never bullied anyone, she didn't smoke, and she got along with the teachers."

As "proof" that she went to the same middle school as Kim Hieora, the classmate shared a short conversation that she had exchanged with Kim Hieora on Instagram. Kim Hieora responded to the classmate's message by writing, "It's been so long!", "Are you doing well?", etc. 

Meanwhile, the initial allegations of school bullying arose earlier this week from an exclusive 'Dispatch' report on September 6.